Hi and welcome to the ?Where in the World is Abbey? page! My name is Abbey; I am a senior with the Friends World Program. Thanks for taking an interest in my travels and taking the time to check out this site!!!

Here is my story:

This semester I am researching for my thesis and will be traveling through seven different countries, to each of the different Friends World Centers. Not a bad way to spend a semester, right?! My trip actually began four weeks ago and I have since spent two incredible weeks in Costa Rica and two weeks in New York. And before the end of April I will be studying in England, Turkey, India, China and Japan, each for two weeks. The idea for this trip came about when I decided to focus my thesis on the Friends World Program?s model and mission statement. I am researching to understand how the mission and model of experiential learning are understood at each Friends World location. Specifically, I am studying the process of student assessment and how it reflects the model and mission of the program. Because of my interest in experiential models of education and assessment, I had the opportunity to utilize the resources of my school, to learn from and study with the culturally diverse faculty in each of their locations, and so here I am!

Some Friends World background: There are only five official ?Centers? for Friends World, which means there are only five sites in which there are Friends World faculty, facilities, and students year round: England, India, China, Japan, and Costa Rica. The location in New York is where our administration is located, a.k.a. ?World Headquarters,? and our location in Turkey is where the final ten weeks of the Comparative Religion and Culture Program are spent.

Some Abbey background: I am 20 years old and am from Marin County, California, which is a far distance from Long Island University in Southampton, where I spent my freshman year with Friends World. My second year I spent with the Comparative Religion and Culture Program, studying in Taiwan, India, and Turkey for ten weeks each, having the time of my life with the largest group of inspiring, ambitious, and compassionate people I could ever hope to encounter, and learning worlds from them and from my experiences. This past semester I was at the Latin American Center in Costa Rica, focusing my studies on educational theories and practices, as well as partaking in the luscious cuisine of my host mother (Gue rico!). And now I am here, and I hope to graduate next December when my thesis is completed?

My freshman year I became involved with the Southampton Players, a wonderful crew of theater people who became my family in New York. Theater and education have always been the two passions in my life, and I hope to someday bring them together. To me, theater has always been a place that brings people together, shares ideas, opens up imaginations, and creates awareness, all of which are things I feel our world needs greatly today. Being a part of Friends World has also allowed me to study theater and dance abroad, as I did in Costa Rica where I studied mime as well as the fine (fabulous!) art of Latin dancing.

I am receiving an immense amount of support from my family, friends, and the Friends World community in my studies and travels, and am incredibly lucky to have all of them in my life. I welcome you into my journey as well! Each week I will be posting my experiences and photos of the Friends World community at this site. Please enjoy, and I would love to hear any comments, questions, or thoughts you have about my experiences or about Friends World. You can e-mail me at PR@southampton.liu.edu.